Keyboard perforator and counter



Feb. 6, 194o 2,189,545

W. H. EDDY KEYBOARD PERFORATOR AND COUNTER Filed Deo. 2o, 1957 45 Fig. 2is a fragmentaryfront: elevational vievv ,I.'I, 'lift`s.the otherselector bargof the vpair either 45 50 stop unit" perse; and l PatentedFeb.A 6, 1940' y l l UNITED STATES PATENT; OFFICE mesne assignments, toTeletypese'tterL Corporal tion, a corporation of Delav'va'rey fApplication'neember 2o, 1937, vsel-'iai Na. 180,758

7 Claims. (C1. 164- 112) This invention relatestoimprovementsincomcoveredfin U. S. Patent No,'2,059,2 50 granted posingsystems and apparatus therefor and, par- November 3, 1936, to H.. L.Krum. Having referticularly .to perforators' and counters which may enceto Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4,' it is notedthat most be utilized for preparinga perforated strip -for of the parts shown vhave their-.counterpart inthe vf5 the automatic control of composing machines. structurevillustrated in said. patent, theJzentire The principal objectief thepresent invention perforating mechanism not being shown but is toprovide means for restricting the cooperawhich is neverthelessconsidered as operatively tion between a reciprocatingv instrumentalityand associated with the present invention. In Fig.r 1,

a periodically actuated mechanism to? response apluralityof key levers II are'pivotedon a com- 10 to certain operating conditions. mon. rod (notshown) and arenormally urged 1o Another is to render the operationof thejustiupwardly by individual springsjv-as is common ficat'ion indicator'of a keyboard perfora'tor andy practice. These key levers extendover aselector counter more accurate and reliable by eliminatmechanismfnotshown) comprising anumber of ing undesirableoperating conditions` ypairs of selectorbars for `controlling the per- Specifically, in priorkeyboard perforators and forator unit, vindicated generally by thenumeral 15 counters, the paw] Which operates the'ju'stiiica- I2, andover thes'imilar pairs Yof bars I3 and I4 tion or space band pointers,oscillates with its I(Fig. 4), included in a selecting unit forcontrolcontrol; lever during the operating cycle .of the ling thecounting mechanism, indicated ygenerally bar on'which `both the pavvlrand the'controlle- 4by -thenumeral I5.y Thekey llevers II are. each verare mounted. This oscillation, atthe high provided'with a key LI6individualy thereto.l The 2 0.

` speed encountered 'during'. the operation of the bars I3 and I4 ofeach pair' are' supported by a perforator and counter, tends to causesaidpawl pair of lf-shaped rockermembersY I1 disposedv at to overtravelvand occasionally to engage the each end of the pairsof bars I 'af andI4, the rocker justification pointer spacing rack or ratchet prememberatonlyone-end of the selector -bars bematurely, thus interfering with thecomplete reing shovvninFig. v4. Each seriesofrockerarms 25 turn lof thespace band pointers to their starting II is mountedon a-pivot rod .I8yand have oppoor beginning of line position, or vcausingQ-ifals'e sitelydirected vlugs I 9 and 2|, which supportthe space band indications tooccur. `With `thf'e'feaselector bars I3 and I4, respectively, of thecorture of the present invention, .greater operating rresponding pairofbars. "'Ifherocker members margins are provided becausethereby'the'spacer 'I1 of; each vpair of selector bars I3 and I4 are 30feed pawl isheld outl of contactualengagement pivoted'toand reciprocateapermutation bar 22,

:with its` control leverL at all times' "except .during each 4of ,whicl1'y is pivotally articulated `to a Y- a cycle of operation of the spacebandindicatshaped selector lever23 pivoted on a `rod-.24. ing mechanism.I l

y .f 'I'he'pefrmutation bars 22, indicated in Fig. 4,;are A better4understanding ofjthe foregoing and ythose yprovided forthecontrol of thecounting 35 other objects of the present invention may be hadmechanism.. Similar 4permutation bars (not fromfthe 'followingdescription, taken inconju'ncshown'l' are provided for the. control lofthe pertion with the accompanying drawingwhereinlike foratorfl 2,'1 andIarepivoted: `Ito individual levers reference characters representAsimilar parts 25 (Fig. l1),.eachof which, -in ,gturn, reciprocates othroughout the several views. ffl* a punchinterference member 26individual there- 40 Figli is a perspective View of a perforatorfand to.l counter with parts broken away showing the'p'- Eachkey lever. I-Il isarranged to'depress one or vparatus necessary. forv -aclearunderstanding of the other-oieach pair of selector bars I3 andf I4,the present invention;` and throughv the medium of the rocker members Ofthe aPPaIUS ill-'Stl'atd in Fg- 1 t0 ShO'WfmOe to vadvance orretract theassociated permutation clearly the improvement according `to the .presbar .ZZtoimpart corresponding movement' to the 1 ent invention; I Y, 7.associated Y- shaped lever 23. `Upon depression Fig. 3 is a PSISDGGUVBView 0f the ,Wuming of akeyfleventhepermutation bars22 are set in Y, fcharacteristic co'mbinationsf/As set forthinPat- 50 Fig. 4 -is afragmental `sectional View yof Vthe ent No. f2,059,250, each'key leverII, in addition selector mechanism. Y. to actuating theselector bars I3nand. I4, also op- 'The feature according to the present vinventionAerates'fa universal bar (not` shown) which funcis disclosed in thepresentembodiment in fconnections to initiate a lcyclic operation of theappation with the keyboardA perforator .counter ratus by trippingtheclutch mechanism, indi- 55 cated generally as 20 (Fig. 1), associatedwith the operating shaft 29. Shaft 29 also carries a series of camsadapted to carry out the several operations of the apparatus. Forinstance, a cam 50 is employed to operate the perforator l2, and a camis provided to operate the spacing bar 69. Bar 69 carries mechanism,indicated generally (in Fig. 1) as I9, for controlling the operation ofan adjustable space band mechanism, indicated generally as 10 (anddisclosed in U. S. Patent No. 2,083,608 issued June 15, 1937, to E. S.Larson), to actuate a pair of space band pointers 64 and 65.

The setting of the Y-shaped levers 23 permutatively upon the depressionof a key lever will control the setting of a plurality of notched discs3| (Fig. 3), forming part of the counting mechanism I5. Individual toeach of the levers 23 and notched discs 3| is a transfer lever 32pivotally mounted on a rod 33 secured to a bracket 30 (Fig. 4) which isactuated by a cam (not shown) carried on the operating shaft, as fullyset forth in Patent No. 2,059,250. For each operation of bracket 30, thetransfer levers 32 will be moved downwardly (as viewed in Fig. 4) intooperative relation with the Y-shaped levers 23; that is, whether thelevers 23 are set in their counterclockwise or clockwise positions, thedepending arms of transfer levers 32 will engage or be free ofcorresponding upper ends of the-arms of Y- shaped levers 23 to cause thediscs 3|, upon actuation of bracket 30, to be rotated slightly in eithera counterclockwise or clockwise direction respectively. With theY-shaped levers 29 operated in varying permutations in accordance withthe movement of the permutation bars 22, the discs 3| will likewise berotated in varying combinations and will correspondingly cause for eachsetting thereof an alignment of the notches in the periphery of thediscs 3|.

Cooperating with the notches in the discs 3| are a plurality of rods 34,there being a rod individual to each set of notches (when aligned), andeach rod isarranged with anti-friction rollers 35. Each of the rods 34is centripetally biased by an individual spring 36. In this mannentherods 34 normally tend to move radially toward a common center into thenotches of the discs 3|, but inasmuch as the notches of the discs 3| arearranged so that for each setting' of the discs only one group ofnotches will be in transverse alignment, only one of the rods 34 at atime will be moved into the notches. Also, the notches in the discs 34are arranged so that when the discs are moved for a subsequentselection, the previously selected rod 34 will be cammecl outwardlyagainst the action of its associated spring 36. operatively securedtothe right-hand end of each of the rods )34 is a stop member 31 (Fig. 3)which slides in suitable slots formed in a circular member 38.

To the right of the code disc selector 39 (as viewed in Fig. 3) is acounting barrel or unit 4|, forming a part of the counting mechanism,which is rotated by power communicated from a continuously rotatingmotor 4D through a friction clutch 42. The countingunit 4| comprises aplurality of circumferentially arranged slides4 43 which arelongitudinally slidable and coact with the stop members 31 to determinethe degree of rotation of unit 4|, and any of the slides 43 which arefound in the zero position are operated invariably by a lever 21(corresponding to lever 205 disclosed in Patent No. 2,059,250),controlled by a cam (not shown) carried on the operating shaft 29.Simultaneously with the actuation of a slide in its zero position, thepreviously operated slide is restored to its normal or nonoperatingposition by a collar 44 to accomplish, through the coaction of anoperated slide 43 and a selected stop member 31, the incrementalprogressive movement of the counting unit 4|. The countingunit 4|includes a shaft 45 on which is Aformed a worm 46.

As previously mentioned, the slides 43 cooperate with the members 31 tocontrol the rotation of the counting unit 4|, which is driven throughthe friction clutch 42, to cause a corresponding degree of rotation toworm 45. The rotation of `worm 46, which meshes with a gear 41 securedto a shaft 48, causes the corresponding or proportional angular rotationof a shaft 49 through gears 5| and 52. A worm 53 is fixed to the rightextremity (as viewed in Fig. l) of shaft 49 and meshes with a worm wheel54 associated with the counting clutch arrangement indicated generallyas 28, completing a gear train between the counting unit 4| and countingclutch 2B.v

As shown in Fig. 1, the indicator comprises a portion 55 of sectoralshape mounted on a frame 56 carried on the base 51, which portioncarries slidably thereon a dial or scale 58 provided adjacent itsarcuate edge with a scale or series of graduations representing thenumber of units in a line of maximum length. Associated with the scale58 is a matrix pointer 59, the reverted end of which moves along thearcuate edge of the dial from left to right, towards zero, in responseto the totalization of the matrix thicknesses by the counting mechanisml5. Thus, the distance from the pointer 59 to zero indicates the amountof space left in the line to be filled with matrices when the linecontains no space bands. However, when space bands are inserted in theline, the space remaining to be filled varies with the number of spacebands inserted. So, to indicate the justifiability of the line beingcomposed, the pair of space band pointers 64 and 65 is provided, thedistance between the pointers G4 and 65, when in the dotted lineposition, for example, indicating the amount of expansibility of thespace bands.

'In the embodiment shown, the dial 58 is articulated tothe minimum spaceband pointer 65 through pin 8l and is movable vmth said pointer. Thespace left in the line to be filled withmatrices is represented by thedistance between the matrix pointer 59 and any point between space bandpointers 64 and 65. The manner of effecting the` differential orproportional movement of pointers 64 and 65 toward the left (from thevzero position) is fully set forth in Patentv No. 2,083,608 and will bedescribed only briefly hereinafter. The matrx pointer 59 is disposedbetween a flanged sleeve 62 (which carries gear 54) and a disc 53, and,as fully described in the aforementioned patents, the matrix pointer 59is rendered movable with the gear 54 by reason of the pressure producedbetween it and the disc 63 by a spring 66 through rod 61. To effect thereturn ofthe matrix pointer r59 leftwardly to its initial or beginningof line position against a stop (not shown), the rod 61 integrallyformed with disc 63 is pushed forwardly by a suitable means against thecompressive actionvof spring 66 to relieve said pressure and permit thematrix pointer 59 to be returned to its initial position by a spring 68acting on a cord 1|.

As previously mentioned, the adjustable space band mechanism 10 is fullydescribed in U. S.

Patent 2,083,608 and providesl means for varying the incrementalmovements .of space band pointers' 64and 65 independently of eachother.Brieily,.wto accomplish this result, there are vmounted on a bracket 12two adjusting screws 13 and 14 (Fig. 2) which control' the movement oftraveling blocks 15 and 16. Carried on fulcrums 11 and 18 integralwithblocks 15 and16 are operating levers 19. and 8|. Through the rotation of'screws 13 and"14 the blocks 15 and 16 are caused to travel therealong,thus varying the position of fulcrums 11 and 18 to change the rotativemovements of levers 19 and 8|, respectV'ely.`

Movement is imparted to levers 19 and 8| mechanicallyfthrough theoperation of spacing bar 69 in the manner fully described in Patent No.2,083,608 but will be briefly described here to 'clarify the presentdescription. Spacing bar 69 is pivotally articulated to a lever 82 (Fig.l) suitably carried ony a pivot (not shown) mounted in a. bracketcarried on base 51, which lever carries a follower roller-thatcooperates with cam 60. For each half revolution of cam 60, spacing bar69 is `reciprocated leftwardly and then returned to its normal rightwardposition. Carried on spacing bar 69 near its right-hand end is a lever83 which has latching relation with an intermediate lever 84, alsopivotally carried on spacing bar 69. Intermediate lever 84 cooperateswith a spacing pawl 85 so that, when space key lever 86 is depressed,link 81 pivoted thereto is actuated downwardly to impart clockwiserotation tov lever 83' to cause the disengagement oflever 83 from thev,intermediate lever 84.- 'I'hus disengaged, lever 84 is actuated in aclockwise direction by a spring 88 to throw spacing pawl 85 intoengagement with a spacing rack 89 carried on a movable bracket 9|.`

Spacingpawl85 is biased normally in a counterclockwise` direction by aspring 92 against an adjustable stop member 93. Stop member 93,

as shown in Fig. 2, is of the eccentric screw type andis secured to thespacing bar 69, adjustment being effected by the hexagon flange 94integral therewith. In this manner, spacing pawl 85 normally bearsagainst the stop 93 instead of against the intermediate lever 84.'Spacing pawl 85 is thereby rendered independent of the hereinafterdescribed vibrations imparted to intermediate lever 84 by thereciprocating action of spacing bar 69. kUpon the operation of space keylever 86, lever 84 will be oscillated once due to the tripping actionimparted by lever 83 and the restoration action imparted to intermediatelever 84 by plate 95 through depending lug 96; that is, intermediatelever 84 becomes unlatched from lever 83 substantially simultaneouslywith the tripping of the clutch 20; therefore, as cam 68 rotates tooperate lever 82 to move spacing bar 69 leftwardly, intermediate lever84 has already been tripped in readiness for this action, and spring 88has urged lever 84 clockwise against spacing pawl 85 to raise thespacing pawl 85 into engagement with spacing ratchet 89. Then, asspacing bar 69 is actuated leftwardly, pawl 85 carries the ratchet 89 inthe same direction until depending lug 96 of intermediate lever 84strikes against reset plate 95, whereupon counterclockwise rotation isimparted to lever 84 against the tension of spring 88 to bring lever 84again into latching engagement with lever 83. Spacing pawl 85 isythereupon disengaged from ratchet rackI pawl 85, the relative movementsbeing upon the adjustable position of` fulcrums 11 and 18.

in itsactuatedpositlon by a retaining pawlnotI As disclosed in'PatentNo. 2,059,250, the spacing bar 69 is reciprocated upon the depression ofevery key lever, although it becomes effective' to move the spacing rackonly upon the depression. of the space key lever. Therefore, it isapparent that for every reciprocation of spacing bar 69, the dependinglug 96 of lever 84 will strike against plate 95, because to enable thelatchment of levers 83 and 84, lever 84 must be rotated counterclockwisea suilicient distance (that is, lever 84' must be given a slight amountof overtravel) to eilect its latching engagement with lever 83, therebycausing, in response to every key operation, momentary vibration ofintermediate lever 84. This sharp, but momentary, action on lever 84 wastransferred to the spacing pawl 85,l since heretofore the spacing pawl85 normally rested upon the leftwardly extending arm of lever' 84.''I'his caused the spacing pawl 85 to engage the rack 89 accldentally andoccasionally'resulted vin false operations of the space band indicatingmechanism. To obviate this difliculty, the adjustable stop 93 wasprovided for spacing pawl 85, thereby rendering spacing pawl 85vnormally independent of intermediate lever 84; that is, during alloperations except that in response to theoperaton of the space key. f

Having reference to Fig. 2, lever 19 (as more fully described in Patentotally" connected at its upperend to a gear-rack 91, and lever 8| 'ispivotally connected'tofa gear rack 98. The lower end of operating 'lever19 is provided with an open ended slotwhich cooperates with a pin 99'secured to'frame 9|. Similarly, operating lever 8| is also providedwith an open ended slot at its lower end which cooperates with a pin |0|also secured to frame 9|-, so that'upon actuation of spacing rack orratchet 89 bythe pawl 85,v this movement is imparted to frame 9| and, inturn, causes levers 19 and 8| to rotate about their fulcrums 11` and 18,respectively, thus imparting movement to gear racks 91I and 98.4 Gearrack 91 meshes with a gear sectorv |02 associated with the maximum spaceband pointer 64, and similarly, gear rack 98 meshes with a gear sector|03associated with the minimum space band pointer 65. Thus, uponactuation of the gear racks 91 and 98 through the instrumentality ofspacing ratchet 89, the space band pointers 64 and 65 are moveddifferentially or proportionately for each reciprocation of spacing bar69 (and hence spacing ratchet 89) in response to each operation of spacedependent It is understood that various changes may be made in thedetails set forth in the foregoing description without departing fromessentials of the invention or from the vspirit or the scope ofequivalency thereof, as dened by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a keyboard apparatus for producing control strips for composingmachines, a series of keys, means adapted to be reciprocated invariablyupon the actuation of said keys, a periodically actuated mechanismcooperably related to said means, and eccentric means eiTective on saidmeans to vary the cooperative relationship between said means and saidmechanism.

2. In a keyboard apparatus for producing control strips for composingmachines, a series of keys, a reciprocating instrumentality invariably il so. No. 2,083,608) is piv'- ative by said special key,

operated in response tfsaid keys, -a periodically actuated mechanismcooperably related to said instrumentality, and eccentricmeans effectiveon said instrumentality to vary the cooperative relationship betweensaid instrumentality and said mechanism, c

3. In a keyboard apparatus for producing control strips for ,composingmachines, a series of keys, a reciprocatinginstrumentality invariablyactuated in response to said keys, a periodically actuated mechanismcooperably related to said instrumentality, and eccentric means electiveon said instrumentality to restrict the cooperation between saidinstrumentality and said mechanism to response to a certain one of saidkeys.

4. In a keyboard apparatus suitable for the production of perforatedtape representing lines of composition, a series of keys, a scale, apointer movable variably with respect to said scale to indicate aVcondition representing cumulative widths of characters, a pair ofpointers, a special key, means adapted to be reciprocated invariablyupon the actuation of said keys, supplemental means carried by saidmeans and rendered operdiierential gearing operable by said supplementalmeans for rotating said pair of pointers different amounts for eacheectiveness thereof for indicating a different condition, and means tovary the cooperative rei lationship between said supplemental means andsaid gearing.

5 In a keyboard apparatus suitable for the production of perforated taperepresenting lines of composition, a series of keys, a scale, a pointermovable variably with respect to said scale to indicate a conditionrepresenting cumulative Widths of characters, a pair of pointers, aspecial key, means adapted to be reciprocated invariably upon theactuation of said keys, supplemental means carried by said means andrendered operative by said special key, diierential gearing operable bysaid supplemental means for rotating said pair Vof pointers dierentamounts for each effectiveness thereof for indicating a differentcondition, and eccentric means effective on said supplemental means torestrict the cooperation between said supplemental means and saidgearing to response to certain operating conditions.

6. In combination vm'th a' keyboard apparatus suitable for theproduction of perforated tape representative of consecutive charactersand word spacers, a series of keys, a scale, a pointer movable variablywith respect to said scale in response to the operation of said keys toindicate the cumulative widths of characters, a pair of pointers, meansfor operating said pair of pointers differentially to indicate thecumulative expansibility of the Word spacers, a special key, meansreciprocated invariably upon the operation of said keys, supplementalmeans carried by said reciprocable means cooperable with said firstrecited means, said special key when actuated adapted to render saidsupplemental means operative to actuate said pointers to correspond tothe increment of expansibility provided by a spacer, and eccentric meanseffective on said supplemental means to restrict the cooperation of saidsupplemental means with said first recited means to response to saidspecial key only.

7. In a keyboard apparatus suitable for the production of perforatedtape representing lines of composition, a plurality of keys, a countingdevice, means to operate said device incrementally according to the keysdepressed, an indicator dial, an index hand, said index hand operablevariably with respect to said dial to correspond with the operation ofsaid device, a special key, a pair of pointers, differential means foractuating said pointers, means adapted to be reciprocated invariablyupon the lactuation of each of said keys, means carried by saidreciprocable means and cooperable with said differential means upon theactuation of said special key, and means to vary the cooperativerelationship between said last recited means and said differentialmeans, the relative actuation of said index hand and said pointersindicating at all times the justiability of the line being composed.

W'ILLIAM H. EDDY.

